Air Force leaders have broken their silence following President Trump's order to create a new military service branch for space.
Leaders issued a message to airmen telling them to stay the course as the process of implementing the president's guidance moves forward. Trump gave the order Monday during a speech to the National Space Council at the White House.
In a message to all airmen sent Tuesday night, service brass including Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein confirmed that, as rumored, the new "space force" would be established as a military service inside the Air Force.
It's an idea that Wilson and Goldfein have previously opposed publicly as too costly and presenting too many organizational challenges for the service.
In the new message, the leaders voiced agreement with Trump's position that the U.S. military approach to the space domain must become more robust to meet current and future challenges.
"The President's statement to the National Space Council adds emphasis to the Air Force position -- space is a warfighting domain and the entire national security space enterprise must continue to enhance lethality, resilience and agility to meet the challenge posed by potential adversaries," they wrote. "We look forward to working with Department of Defense leaders, Congress, and our national security partners to move forward on this planning effort."
Trump offered few details about the implementation of a space force in his announcement Monday, though he did say the Air Force and the proposed new service would be "separate, but equal."
Air Force leaders told airmen they should not expect any "immediate moves or changes" in the wake of the announcement, saying creation of the new force would take time.
"The work directed by the President will be a thorough, deliberate and inclusive process," they wrote. " ... Our focus must remain on the mission as we continue to accelerate the space warfighting capabilities required to support the National Defense Strategy."
Policy experts told Military.com this week that building a new force could take years and would require major legislation and planning, even if it's staffed by current service members and takes advantage of existing infrastructure.
The message to airmen concluded on an upbeat note.
"We remain the best in the world in space and our adversaries know it," it said. "Thank you for standing the watch. We're proud to serve with you!"
-- Oriana Pawlyk contributed to this report.
-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
